# "The Rainbow Fish" innocent introduction to sharing or gateway to Socialism **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2008, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557 "2008-10-25T22:13:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/1 "2008-10-25T22:13:29Z")
Per “The Giving Tree” thread here is another book [The Rainbow Fish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Fish) that seems to have various interpretations. Is there anywhere online I can see the entire book? > [@](#): > > Plot > The story follows the beautiful Rainbow Fish, who is covered in colorful shiny scales. Proud and vain, he thinks he is better than all the other fish and will not play with them. When one small fish asks the Rainbow Fish for one of his scales, he rejects him. The other fish then refuse to talk to the Rainbow Fish at all, so the Rainbow Fish visits the wise female octopus for advice. The octopus advises him to give away his scales to the other fish. > > When he encounters the small fish a second time, the Rainbow Fish gives him one of his precious scales, and is very soon surrounded by other fish requesting scales. Eventually, the Rainbow Fish has only one shiny scale left, but he is no longer vain. He spends his days playing happily with the other fish. > The moral > This book can be interpreted in several ways. One interpretation is that sharing is good, as it makes the takers and the one being taken from feel better, and that earning and contributing instead of taking from others is bad. > > Others believe the book promotes the idea that giving away all—or, in this case, almost all—of one’s worldly possessions is best, or that one must give up one’s unique identity in order to be accepted by society. > > Another interpretation is that Materialism is the driving force behind the world. You cannot have friends without buying them first. Others argue that this book maintains a socialistic undertone promoting children to emulate these political methods. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/2 "2008-10-26T01:09:07Z")
Probably not. You can read it at the library in less than 10 minutes, though. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/3 "2008-10-26T13:19:08Z")
This book makes Baby Ayn cry. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/4 "2008-10-26T13:40:05Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > This book makes Baby Ayn cry. 😛 As to the book, I want to say that the message isn’t about losing your individuality or “sharing the wealth”, but about giving of yourself and being humble. Consider: the fish was vain and selfish and thought himself better than the other fish. By giving his scales away, he was acknowledging that the other fish had worth, and that he was no better than anyone else. Then again, it could just be teaching children that they should give away their valuable possessions just so they can have friends. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/5 "2008-10-26T14:31:36Z")
You are all wrong. Self-mutilation in the name of others? That’s blatant Christian propaganda! ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/6 "2008-10-26T14:47:25Z")
Well I think that it is a very subtle method of poisoning childrens minds with the tenets of Communism,gay marriage and murdering babies as a prelude to America being under the jackboot of inferior races who will make white people obey their orders,become Muslims and have enforced school holidays celebrating perverts of the same sex doing disgusting things to each other. All this at the behest of and funded by that Islamic, black power,foreign,witchcraft practicing, terrorist who is also TOO TALL,Obama. Or should I say Obersturmbanfuheur ADOLF Von OBama(Holder of the Iron Cross first class) But thats just my opinion,I’m sure that some of you liberal,pinko, fags will disagree with my freedom loving views. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/7 "2008-10-26T14:55:53Z")
Hey now, wait a minute, **Lust4Life**. Obama is too tall? That’s just going over the line now. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/8 "2008-10-26T15:22:16Z")
> [@Stauderhorse](#): > > Hey now, wait a minute, **Lust4Life**. Obama is too tall? That’s just going over the line now. You’re right I’m sorry but I just get SO damned mad at these preverts sometimes! ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/9 "2008-10-26T16:25:50Z")
Lust4Life, you should be ashamed of yourself. Ed Jones is too tall. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/10 "2008-10-26T21:02:58Z")
Reminds me of the ironically named [“The Happy Prince”](http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/177/) by Oscar Wilde, which is also open to interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/11 "2008-10-26T21:31:18Z")
You know what bugs me the most about the book? It’s that the other fish accept the offer of the Rainbow Fish to partition out his scales. For me, if I had avoided the RF because I perceived him as self-centered and vain, the mere sincere offer of the scale would be enough for me to see past that. I really thought the end of the book would be that the other fish would take his offer as a gesture of humility and refuse it. To parallel the discussion on _The Giving Tree_, I’d like the Rainbow Fish story much better if it ended similarly: “And the Rainbow Fish and the other fish were fast friends from then on. But not really.” ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/12 "2008-10-26T21:39:43Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > You know what bugs me the most about the book? It’s that the other fish accept the offer of the Rainbow Fish to partition out his scales. For me, if I had avoided the RF because I perceived him as self-centered and vain, the mere sincere offer of the scale would be enough for me to see past that. I really thought the end of the book would be that the other fish would take his offer as a gesture of humility and refuse it. > > To parallel the discussion on _The Giving Tree_, I’d like the Rainbow Fish story much better if it ended similarly: “And the Rainbow Fish and the other fish were fast friends from then on. But not really.” Well people do like to get stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/13 "2008-10-26T21:50:33Z")
But without his shiny scales, how will guide Santa’s submarine? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/14 "2008-10-26T23:05:29Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Reminds me of the ironically named [“The Happy Prince”](http://www.online-literature.com/wilde/177/) by Oscar Wilde, which is also open to interpretation. _The Happy Prince_ is weird; it’s like _The Giving Tree_, if both of them were trees. The Prince gives away all his wealth to the city’s poor, without asking anything in return, and the swallow stays with him until he dies. I think it’s one of Oscar Wilde’s best works, though. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rainbow-fish-innocent-introduction-to-sharing-or-gateway-to-socialism/469557/15 "2008-10-27T00:23:05Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > But without his shiny scales, how will guide Santa’s submarine? This unexpected turn actually made me LOL, literally for once 🙂